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Zhang Xiaobo, one of the authors of China Can Say No, is a former student radical and "uncritical admirer of all things American". His disillusionment with foreign countries' treatment of China, and particularly that of America, reflects the experience of about a quarter of Chinese students studying in the United States, who despite initially feeling an Americophilia, experience a surge in pro-China patriotism following the experience. Contributing factors to this transformation include feelings of racial discrimination while in the United States, a denial of Chinese culture's legitimacy by Americans, and negative images of China from the American media.[1]

The book, which is modelled on The Japan That Can Say No, argues that many "fourth-generation" Chinese embraced Western values too strongly in the 1980s and disregarded their heritage and background. Surprisingly, all of the authors were strong critics of Chinese government, and at least two of the authors participated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Another author was sentenced to seven years in jail by the Chinese government in the 1980s for his pro-democracy activities, though he was released after only serving three years. The book specifically criticizes a number of activists such as physicist Fang Lizhi and journalist Liu Binyan.